Days of Innocence
by Kurosu
Summary: AU, Chibi-Mayura & Kakusei Loki. The time and place are unknown - probably after the inevitable events of Ragnarok - but they're not important. These are a series of random snapshots of their intertwined fates.
1. Chapter 1

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Days of Innocence**

written by Kurosu

**-Chapter One, Bedtime Curiosities.**

Still awake, he was sitting comfortably in bed, two pillows anchored behind his back while another was at his right side, an arm resting upon it, as he continued to read a few pages of the book in his lap, wanting to at least get through the end of the chapter before he called it quits for the night. This had become a habit of his, since who knew how long, and helped relax him in to slumber, but his current reading had piqued his interest, skimming through the rich history and culture of the Babylonians.

He turned the page, eyes fixated on the words before him, though he could hear the soft creak of his bedroom door opening, followed by light platters of small feet across the floorboards. When they stopped at the corner of his bed, he paused and looked up, arching a brow curiously at the small form of a five-year-old girl clutching on to her a stuffed bunny. She was staring at him with nervous, crimson eyes, fingers squeezing the poor bunny's ear.

He closed the book, placing it aside, as he spoke to her gently, "You're supposed to be sleeping, Mayura."

"Um, I can't sleep."

"Why not?"

She didn't answer him but moved forward, closer to the head of the bed, on the more spacious side that he didn't quite take over yet since he was awake, and threw her doll on the covers before she started to climb on to his bed. She struggled a bit because it was a bit high for her, but using the frame to support her footing, she boosted her tiny self up successfully, earning a quiet 'oof' in to the covers, her nose plowing in to the plush body of her bunny friend.

He watched her quietly, with amusement dancing in his eyes, but when he saw her having trouble reaching him, a part of him wanted to help her while the other waited to see what sort of determination she had, whether she would give up and return to her room like a good, little girl, or overcome her obstacles alone, as he hoped she would. He wasn't disappointed, inwardly applauding her ingenuity of using her surroundings to reach her goal.

Sitting on his bed, short legs tucked on either side of her, she pulled the bunny in to her arms and stared at him expectantly, her big, round eyes of innocence boring in to his own worldly ones. "Ne Loki-kun, will you read me a story?"

"Didn't Yamino already read one to you?"

"But I like your stories," she pouted and scooted closer to him. When she was right at his left side, she reached over to the book that he had put aside, attempting to grab hold of its thickness in to her tiny hands, "What's that about?"

"It's about an ancient civilization," he instinctively answered, and she looked at him strangely. He sometimes forgot that she was only a child and sighed, shaking his head.

He lifted the heavy bound of words and set it in front of him once again, letting her drape her curious self over his lap to be in awe of the book. He opened the pages, and her eyes flickered in amazement at all the writings and a few pictures. She stopped his hand from turning the pages when she spotted a painting of a lofty building being constructed by many people around it, "It's a castle!"

He chuckled at her excitement, his hand combing through her long, pink hair, "Not quite."

She pointed to the picture again, "What are they doing? Are they trying to get inside the castle?"

"Your 'castle' is called the _Tower of Babel_. These people belong to one..." he chose his words carefully, so that she could understand the story, "group, and they built it, hoping to reach the skies."

"Why?"

"They wanted to make it to heaven, where god lives."

"That's silly," she giggled.

He was surprised by her childish answer and looked at her, a small grin on his face, "Oh?"

"Yeah, I don't want to go to heaven," she beamed proudly, "because Loki-kun is here."

It was just her nature to give him such a beautiful answer, the warmth and affection that poured out from her youthful soul for him made his heart flutter in delight. He wrapped an arm around her body, pulling her to his chest, and placed a gentle kiss on her crown. Her head rested over the surface of his heart, the doll squeezed between them, and neither said anymore because this was how she fell asleep for the rest of the night, and it didn't take him much longer either, to follow her in to dreamland.

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**Notes:** Ah, I felt like writing some Chibi-Mayura & Kakusei Loki stories, lol. Even though it's an AU, Loki is still a god... and I guess you could assume that Mayura is reincarnated or something, if someone's looking for a reason behind all this, lol. *shrugs* -kuro.


	2. Chapter 2

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Days of Innocence**

written by Kurosu

**-Chapter Two, Park Affairs.**

He plopped down on the bench and stretched his arms across the back, gazing across the playground to the girl playing by the slide with a black puppy. He took his eyes off them briefly, scanning the area for any sort of danger that could harm a child, but only a few other mothers and their kids were present. Some of the women gazed in his direction, and when their eyes met, he would nod and smile politely, and they would, in turn, flushed a bright red and giggle to themselves like teenagers.

He refrained from rolling his eyes at the maturity level of married women these days and returned to keep a watchful eye over his young charge, now coming down the slide with an excited puppy in her lap. He sweatdropped when they both reached the bottom end, the animal was sent flying out of her arms, luckily flipping once in the air and landing nimbly on his feet. He heard her laugh, "Sorry, Fenrir! Hehe! I'll hold you better next time."

'There's no next time!'

He smiled at the dog's bark to the girl, not that she understood what he was saying to her because she only petted him response, smiling brightly, before taking off elsewhere. He sighed, watching his eldest son run after the rambunctious child, and wondered how such a small girl could have so much energy - even he had a hard time keeping up with her, or maybe he was getting too old.

Age shouldn't matter when he was a god after all, but it really made him wonder sometimes.

He caught movement from the corner of his eye and pulled his arms towards his knee, resting them there, as he leaned forward, when a pretty, older woman sat down next to him. He acknowledged her with a curt nod, and she greeted him with a flirtatious smile, that he knew all too well.

He focused on the ball of energy in the distance, clumsily throwing a stick not very far away for Fenrir to fetch, but the puppy remained in his spot beside the girl, who was slowly getting frustrated with his lack of obedience in playing the game. He chuckled to himself at his son's stubbornness to lower himself to the whims of a pathetic game, but Fenrir would soon learn that no one could turn down the demand of a cute, pleading Mayura.

He mentally counted down to zero when the puppy sprinted a mere six meters to grab the stick and brought it back to her. He laughed at the sight of the happy girl rewarding Fenrir with a pat to the head and a kiss on the nose, the puppy's tail wagging eagerly upon receiving them.

"I'm surprised," the woman next to him started, "you have a daughter." He looked at her, as she continued with a smile, "I meant nothing by that. You just look so young and handsome."

For some reason, he found her very irritating and had to correct her, "She's not my daughter."

"Oh? Your niece?"

"No," he shook his head, "We're not related."

"Oh! I apologize then," her grin grew wider, "You were watching her so carefully, I just assumed. You must be babysitting. It's so rare to see such diligence and responsibility in a reliable man these days."

"Ah..."

She kept rambling on about something, but he had already lost her after her annoying assumption that he and Mayura were related - could she not tell from just their appearances that they looked nothing alike. It was a bit disturbing that people saw this image, but he couldn't quite blame them because of their obvious age gap. He sighed, wishing Mayura would finish playing and return to him, so they could just hurry up and leave, or else, one particular woman would learn to fear the wrath of a god.

As if his prayers were answered, he saw a pink and black blur rushing at him, and he opened up his arms in time for her to fly straight in to his embrace, like a cannonball to his gut, "Loki-kun!"

Her out of breath self was still smiling, cheeks flushed with a tinge of pink, almost matching her hair, but she was still full of life, wrapping her arms around his neck, as he hauled her in to his arms. He reached a hand down to pet the puppy for completing his task.

Fenrir barked happily at his feet, 'Brought her back in one piece, daddy.'

He would've left in peace, forgetting his one-person audience if she had just kept quiet, but she was the type to want attention, especially from an attractive, available man, "Loki-san was it? It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is-"

"Excuse us," he cut her off, hastily standing up and not caring what her name was, "but we must be off. Have a good day."

He pretty much sped walk out of the park with Fenrir right at his heels and a curious Mayura looking over his shoulder at the frowning woman left behind. She rested her chin on his shoulder, still staring at the very upset woman who started to flail her arms disappointedly, and laughed at the silly spectacle because she was much too young to understand what had transpired.

"What's funny?"

"That lady," she giggled.

He sighed, "Ignore her."

"She looks mad," she said, pulling back and staring at him in a disapproval manner, "Loki-kun didn't play with her?"

"No," he sweatdropped, not enjoying the intensity of her eyes prodding at his conscience.

"That's not nice," she glared, and he heard Fenrir snickering beside them.

"Err, but I wanted to play with Mayura instead?"

"Really?" she lost her frown and was beaming at him with a cute smile, satisfied by his answer, "I guess that's okay."

He sighed with much relief, able to get out of trouble with that one and wouldn't be getting a lecture on how to treat girls properly from a five-year-old, and now he just needed to come up with a reason not to go to the park for the next two weeks, in case he had created a stalker from that woman. It certainly wouldn't be a problem because his Mayura was easily distracted, by the curiosity of the world and sweets.

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**Notes:** *sighs* Loki is so cute with Chibi-Mayura! *hears Fenrir growling* You too, FenFen. -kuro.


	3. Chapter 3

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Days of Innocence**

written by Kurosu

**-Chapter Three, Bath Time Blues.**

With the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up, along with the bottoms of his pants cuffed, he was sitting on a stool behind Mayura on her own seat in the fully tiled bathroom. She was humming some unfamiliar tune, playing with the rubber duck and frog in her hands while he had a bottle of shampoo in his own and squirted a bit of it in to the palm of his hand before rubbing it in to the girl's pink hair.

His fingers gently massaged her scalp, thoroughly cleaning the long silks of her hair, and he seemed content on doing this, like a calming meditation as he focused on the task, with her squirming every now and then.

"Mayura," he would sigh to get her to stay still again.

"How much longer, Loki-kun?"

"We have to make sure your hair is nice and clean," he chided, his fingers running down the length of her hair, rubbing the strands between his soapy palms, "And then you get your bath."

"Loki-kun too?" she twisted around to see him, but he took hold of her shoulders and turned her around.

"No, I'll take one later."

She dropped her toys to the floor and folded her arms across her chest, obviously sulking, "Why won't Loki-kun take one with me?"

His hands froze, still lost within in her hair, and he sweatdropped, "Ladies first."

"But I want to take a bath with Loki-kun!"

He sighed and finished soaping up her hair and reached over her for the showerhead, asking, "And just why do you want to?"

"It's not fun by myself."

"You have Ducky and Froggy," he noted the fallen toys still on the floor, as he turned on the water, letting it warm up a bit to a nice temperature for her.

She huffed out, "Not the same!"

"Now close your eyes," he told her, and she, for once, listened to him, only because she didn't like the soapy bubbles in her eyes after learning her lesson the first time. He brought the shower head over to her, the warm water pouring down her hair and skin, while his other hand rinsed the shampoo away.

Her shoulders were hunched forward, still brooding over the matter, and in a tiny voice, she muttered, as if speaking to herself, "Loki-kun doesn't like me anymore."

He didn't say anything, feeling a pang of guilt upon hearing her words, and continued to let the water wash over her until she was completely clean. After making sure there were no more suds on her, he gathered her hair and twisted it in to a bun on top of her head. Holding it still with one hand, he dug in to his pockets for some hairpins and clips to secure her hair in place.

He then reached under her arms and lifted her up in to the air, moving her over to the bath filled with warm water, but she remained listless, dangled in his arms like a lifeless doll, and he frowned, setting her gently in to the tub. She stared at the water, hands slowly moving about, creating small ripples, but she was disinterested in her bath, and he turned away, standing up to grab her toys to bring it over to her.

When he returned to her side again, he didn't squat down next to her. He bent over, bracing one hand on the edge of the tub, as he dropped both of her toys down to her. They made tiny splashes in her face, but she just stared at them and pouted before shoving them away. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them, resting her chin on her knees, and sat moping in the water.

Suddenly a big splash whipped against her face, and she turned away to avoid the unexpected waves in her direction, even the duck and frog sailed right by her person. When she looked back, a slightly distraught Loki was sitting in front of her, still in his clothes, and she blinked at him.

"What's Loki-kun doing?"

As if it wasn't obvious enough for the child, he sighed, "You said you wanted to take a bath with me."

She smiled and laughed, inching towards him, "But you still have your clothes on! And now they're all wet!"

"It's fine if it makes Mayura smile again," he welcomed her in to his arms, and she hugged him, apologizing for being a bad girl. His expression softened, a sweet smile on his lips, "Only sometimes, but I'll always like Mayura, no matter what."

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**Notes:** Okay, I know what you're all thinking, "I can't imagine Loki-sama washing Chibi-Mayura's hair like this! It's so not god-like!" Or "Shouldn't Yamino be doing this instead?" Which is why I think is so sweet and cute, for him to lower himself to that point because he wants to take care of her himself! -kuro.


	4. Chapter 4

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Days of Innocence**

written by Kurosu

**- Chapter Four, A Promise to Keep.**

A drowsy Loki rubbed his face, since he was never a morning person, even after washing himself up, but that particular day had started out terrible since he apparently had overslept. It was a strange occurrence when his youngest son had officially dubbed himself as the alarm clock, always punctual in getting the god up and ready for the new day. He had no idea what time it was either, barely able to get his clothes together to make a decent fashionable statement - already glad he had no intentions of heading out in to public that day either.

He managed to make it down the stairs in one piece, with heavy lidded eyes obscuring half his vision as if he was paying attention to anything ahead of him. He covered his mouth and yawned, planning to request some coffee to help jog his senses, which was another rare thing of his when he normally preferred tea.

He stepped through the sacred threshold that was the kitchen, Yamino's most favorite territory, calling out to the young man, "Yamino..."

He heard his son spluttered and fumbled with a knife in his hands, letting it slip out of his grasp and clatter on to the counter. He blinked at Yamino's strange reaction, who quickly apologized, "Loki-sama! I'm so sorry! I forgot to wake you up!"

"Err, it's all right," Loki sweatdropped, "I managed... somehow." He murmured the last word to himself, having partially noted that Yamino's attention had been out the window, even though he was in the middle of making sandwiches. He looked around, no sight of Fenrir nor the energetic five-year-old girl, and he frowned, berating himself for not having noticed earlier, "Where's Mayura?"

"Um, she's..." Yamino looked very nervous, "outside."

Loki walked towards the French doors that opened on to the patio, and his jaw would've hit the floor, if it were possible, at the sight of his little Mayura having tea with his long time nemesis. Yamino gulped, hurrying with the sandwiches, when his father swung the two doors open and marched right on to the stone-paved patio, definitely making the dramatic entrance that he wanted.

"Loki-kun!" came the happy, high-pitch squeal of the little girl. She hopped out of her kiddy chair - a custom-made piece along with the miniature table and chairs set just for her, that matched the adult version nearby - and pretty much shot straight to his legs, hugging them, "You're in time for our tea party!"

'Daddy!' Fenrir happily barked, seated in one of the chairs.

He gave her a charming smile, "Is that so?"

She was gushing so happily that she had set up he table on her own and been a good hostess, even though Yamino was making the tea and sandwiches, and took his hand to lead him over to the table to meet their guest. He needed to be amicable for Mayura's sake, so with a forced smile, he glared at the boy in the seat across from Mayura's currently empty one since she was standing next to him, while the last chair was occupied by her bunny friend, who even had his own plate and teacup.

"Heimdall," he civilly gritted out.

The feeling was evidently mutual in his tone, with added expression of disdain and boredom, "Loki."

Being an innocent child, Mayura was very unaware of the tense atmosphere brewing around her as she tried to walk back to her chair, but Loki kept her hand clasped within his, not wanting to let her go within any footage of the enemy, even if she had no idea of the long history of animosity between the two. She looked up at him, blinking, noticing that he was staring and frowning at her friend.

"Mou Loki-kun," she pouted and scolded, "you're not being a good host."

He, and Fenrir, sweatdropped at being lectured by his five-year-old, earning a smirk from Heimdall, who leaned forward on the table, an elbow propped upon it, "Heh, you can learn a thing or two from Mayu-chan."

At the overly friendly familiarity with her name, Loki gave him a more deathly glare, a sound akin to a growl emitted from the back of his throat, much too low for Mayura to even notice, but Heimdall's grin just widened at the success in annoying his rival. Unfortunately, the girl beamed proudly at Heimdall's words and slipped out of Loki's grasp to hurry back to the table, "Thank you, Kazu-kun! Let me go help Yamino-kun!"

She hurried by a stunned Loki and stopped to give his legs a shove towards the adult patio table, "Loki-kun, please chat with Kazu-kun till I come back!"

She gave him such a sweet smile and big doe-like eyes that he could only nod in silence and walked over to Heimdall while she rushed in to the house, calling out to Yamino. He didn't sit down at all, standing behind Fenrir's chair and patting his eldest son on the head for being alert and present by Mayura's side since the enemy was in their territory.

Loki went straight to the point, "What are you doing here, Heimdall?"

"Can't I visit my cute friend?" he drawled in a disgustingly sweet tone.

He deadpanned, "I'm flattered that you think I'm cute, but no."

Heimdall narrowed his eye at Loki, "Too bad, Mayu-chan LIKES me."

Fenrir put both paws on the table, standing on his hind legs, glaring at the small one-eyed god, 'Yeah, so what? She likes everyone! But we know you're only here to annoy daddy, Midget!'

"Just because you're hiding away in Midgard doesn't mean I can't make your life a living hell," he snarled.

"Whatever you're planning," Loki clenched his jaw, "just leave Mayura out of this. If it's a fight you want, I'll welcome it."

"Fight?"

Mayura gasped, the tray with a plate of sandwiches in her hands dropped to the ground in shock, grabbing their attention. A stunned Yamino quickly placed his tray of more sandwiches and teapot and cups on the nearby table and picked up the girl, taking her away from the broken plate and spilled food. He handed her over to Loki, who stared at him with tears brimming at the edge of her round eyes, not understanding why Loki would fight her friend, Kazumi.

Seeing the quiver of her lips, he hugged her and pressed her head against his shoulder, hushing her softly, feeling guilty for making her cry, having to choose between two people she freely cared about. His focus was solely on her as he took her inside, ignoring Heimdall and letting his sons fix the mess. He could vaguely hear Fenrir lashing out with threat at the unwelcomed god, who just as loudly retaliated with his own, and smirked.

"Loki-kun, please don't fight Kazu-kun," she hiccupped, her shoulders jerking, and he felt the wetness of her tears seeping through the fabric of his shirt.

He lifted her head from his shoulder and looked in to her teary eyes, wanting to tell her that he wouldn't hurt Heimdall because he would do anything she requested of him, but she continued through her sniffling, "Loki-kun doesn't like Kazu-kun, but he's still my friend."

He was briefly surprised at her sudden insight, that she knew all along that he didn't like Heimdall, and he didn't think he was that obvious to her, though his emotions always brewed right below the surface. Her intuition of his feelings had always amazed him, which should never had surprised him at all, and he gazed at her, his expression so tender and sweet, wiping away her tears from her right eye while he kissed away the others from her left one.

"I'm sorry, Mayura," he whispered, "I didn't mean to make you cry. You're important to me... I..."

He had always been terrible with words, especially when it came to expressing his own emotions, always uncertain of how to tell her - even now when she was so young, she probably wouldn't understand anyway. As if sensing his inner turmoil, she put her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his own, "Loki-kun is important to me too! I'll stay by your side forever!"

She pulled back to look at him, very determined crimson orbs piercing his shocked ones, and he chuckled, shaking his head as if this was too good to be true, at the wonderful words his Mayura had declared to him, to reassure him that no one was going to take her away from his side, not even her friend that he hated. It was a bit scary on how perceptive she was with his feelings, at this young age, and he sighed contently.

She then pressed her small palms to the sides of his face and smiled, "I promise, Loki-kun!"

He let out a small laugh, wearing a playful and hopeful smile, "Hm, then I'll make sure you keep that promise."

"Okay!" she gave him a toothy smile and an innocent peck on his lips.

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**Notes:** Lol, I wanted to put Heimdall at a tea party with Chibi-Mayu. I like the ending, though not sure how realistic that is, lol. I just need sleep... zzz... -kuro.


	5. Chapter 5

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Days of Innocence**

written by Kurosu

**-Chapter Five, Between You and Me, There was a Bunny.**

He sat at his desk, reading over a few letters that had piled up over the last few days, half wondering how he had let this happened when he was in his office for at least two hours each day. Then again, the majority of these letters were from Asgard that he rather not read, but he was up to date with the rest of his paperwork and no clients had stopped by the past two days.

Or so he thought, when the sound of socked feet pattered against the floorboards down the hallway. His door flew opened, and a tearful Mayura poured in to his study. He was taken aback by the sight of her tears and got out of his chair, meeting her halfway across the room, in between the coffee table and one of the couches.

"What's wrong, Mayura?" he inquired, kneeling down to her, and she lifted her stuffed bunny up to him with one hand while the other held on to the detached long ear. The small hole where the ear had fallen off had already enlarged, where the white stuffing poured out, and that particular area of the head deflated just slightly, giving a deformed appearance. The ear wasn't the only thing that was falling apart, because the left button eye was practically dangling by its final thread and the lackluster fur no longer had its original softness.

"Bunny-chan is hurt!" she cried.

He sweatdropped at her overly dramatic performance, but this had been her friend for the past two years, so he couldn't quite blame her for the emotional outcry. Yet, there really wasn't anything he could do when he was not an expert in the area of bunny operations.

"I'm not sure what I can do here," he told her honestly, "Perhaps Yamino can help Bunny better than I can."

She sniffed, rubbing her eyes, "I can't find Yamino-kun."

"Oh," he then remembered that Yamino had mention a leave to buy some groceries, and since it had been quiet that afternoon, he assumed that Fenrir had either tagged along or napping somewhere, where a certain energetic child couldn't find him to drag him in to her adventures.

Loki picked her up in to his arms and sat down on the couch, letting her sit in his lap with the bunny cradled carefully in her arms. He let her head rest against his chest, his fingers brushing through her hair in comfort, for her benefit, but sometimes he wondered if he wasn't doing this for his own selfishness, always finding a certain serenity whenever he held her in his arms.

He closed his eyes, his chin settled on top of her head, and asked her, "Do you remember when you met Bunny?"

"Um, no," came her soft reply, and he felt the lift of her head upwards, peering at him through her moist eyes, "Do you, Loki-kun?"

"Ah," he smiled, recalling the memory, "You had just turned three at the time. We were passing by a store when you saw him sitting in the window. I think it was the first time I heard a girl squealed so loudly." He opened one eye to see her face all red with embarrassment and laughed, and she pouted.

He pressed her small body to him again, hugging her and sighing wistfully, "There are a lot of things I forget over the years..." It was best not too mention how many years exactly, lest he wanted to confuse the poor child, "but the memories with you, Fenrir and Yamino, I'll never forget them."

"Because they're important?"

"Because they're important."

She was quiet, staring at the bunny in her hands, holding him out at arm's length, "Bunny-chan is old, isn't he?"

"In bunny years, he might be old as me," he grinned.

She then held the doll up against Loki's cheek and tilted her head curiously, "But Loki-kun won't lose an ear or a nose?"

He arched a brow, "I hope not."

"Then I'll make Loki-kun all better!" she insisted, the wounded bunny dropped to the side and laid forgotten, along with the detached ear. The girl was easily distracted, especially when he became her focus, not that he minded, and he loved the way she would stare at him, the complete trust she had in him always made his insides flutter with delight.

"How will you do that?"

His tone was playful, wondering what sort of answer she would give him, and he watched her brows furrow in thought, the concentration in her eyes staring at his face, and the downward turn of her lips at an answer that refused to appear to her immediately.

"Mou!" she puffed her cheeks in annoyance, "I don't know, Loki-kun!"

He chuckled, "I'm sure you'll find a way when it happens."

"You think so?"

"I know so," he smiled and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, "Because you always do."

* * *

**Notes:** Ah, this'll hold you guys over, right? Lol, working on at least three stories at the same time, while being attack by an army of plot bunnies. -kuro.


	6. Chapter 6

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Days of Innocence**

written by Kurosu

**-Chapter Six, A Child Among Adults.**

"Bunny and me~! La la~!

"With cookies and tea~!"

Loki smiled behind his hand, seated at his desk, reading a book, but occasionally, his eyes would wander over to the little girl at the coffee table, busily doodling on the paper, her cute voice singing about her adventures of her beloved bunny. He was certain she was making up the words, though he rarely paid attention to what shows she watched on the television, which he left to Yamino's supervision.

"By the beach and sea~!"

The song stopped abruptly, followed by a soft 'uwah,' and he peeked over the book in his hands, wondering what the cause was. He noted her furrowed brows, her lean forward with chin propped in her hand as she stared at the array of crayons all over the table top, her free hand picked up a blue crayon. She held it up in front of her, scrutinizing it before standing up and grabbing the green one in her other hand.

"Loki-kun!" she called and wandered over to his desk, standing in front of it with each colored crayon in her hand, and stared at him over the furniture that she barely stood over, her chin rested on the surface if she stood on her toes.

He put the book down to give his full attention to her, "Yes, Mayura?"

"Loki-kun's eyes are green?" she was staring at him, though he could see the confusion in her own orbs, "Um, but sometimes they're blue too!"

"I suppose."

He shifted his weight to the right, resting his cheek on the back of his hand, smiling, "Why do you ask? Are you drawing a picture of me?"

She nodded, "Yes~! And Yamino-kun and Fenrir! And Kazu-kun too!"

He tried not to twitch at the mention of Heimdall, and ever since the bratty god's last unexpected visit, Loki had added more additional wards to the house and its surrounding, not wanting to ever be caught unaware again. It wasn't just for Mayura's own safety but his sanity and jealousy too. He still couldn't get the image of his Mayura giving Heimdall a kiss on the cheek, as harmless as it was, from his mind and memory. He just hoped the guardian of Bifrost would just find a hole and bury himself there.

"Oh! I'll make one green and one blue!" she grinned and scurried back to her drawing, waving the colors around happily, "Green! Blue! Green! Blue! I can't choose, so both will do!"

He chuckled softly and watched her, having lost interest in his book to continue, but soon, there was a knock on the door. He and Mayura turned to look at it just as the door opened, and a rather perturbed Yamino stepped through the archway, announcing, "Loki-sama, you have a visitor."

He moved aside to allow the familiar blonde to bounce in to the room, eager to embrace the owner of the house, "Loki!"

Freya stopped short at the sight of an awestruck Mayura, mouth parted open, staring at the goddess of love and beauty, but it was Yamino who disrupted the awkward silence, excusing himself to prepare some refreshment, and disappeared from view.

The girl's face brightened at the beautiful guest, and she dropped her crayons aside and ran up to Freya excitedly, "Nee-san! You're so pretty!"

The goddess focused on the child, a frown marring her lovely features, intense eyes boring in to the face of innocence and admiration and drifting down to the right hand that held the fabric of her blue dress. She stared at the particular hand, a brief expression of hurt and pain, and whipped her head away from Mayura, brushing by her to get to the purpose of her visit, "Loki, we need to talk."

"Well it's nice of you to visit, Freya," he smiled politely and then looked over to Mayura, who watched them curiously though she couldn't take her eyes off the pretty goddess, "Mayura, why don't you take Bunny and help Yamino downstairs."

She normally would protest and refuse to leave Loki's side, but she could see there was something important that children weren't allowed to hear, so she nodded hesitantly and walked over to the couch. She took Bunny - new and improved after the talented Yamino was able to rescue the stuffed animal, the visible stitches of the ear became a prominent feature - in to her arms and quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door after her.

She stood outside for a moment before she started to walk away, heading to the stairway, but she couldn't help but glance back towards the room. She could hear Freya's voice, in disbelief, "Why, Loki... Why can't you let her go?"

Of course, Mayura wouldn't understand what their guest meant by her words nor be bothered by them, but she didn't like not knowing what's going on. She pouted, thinking that Loki told her to leave because she was still a child. It would probably be different if she was older like them. Maybe she could ask Loki later about it, because he always answered her questions whenever she asked, even ones she thought were silly.

She was curious about what sorts of topics adults talked about too, very tempting to turn back around and eavesdrop outside the door, but then that would get her the 'bad girl' title for the day. She stood at the top of the stairs, tilting her head at Bunny held in her hands, "What do you think, Bunny-chan?"

She waited for an answer, but it actually came from her little tummy instead, an audible growl. She sweatdropped and reprimanded, "Silly Bunny-chan, if you were hungry, you should say so!"

She tucked him under one arm and bound down the steps, making her way towards the kitchen. She first spotted Fenrir by the counter, already going through a plate of cookies, and dashed over to him, "Fenrir! Save some for Bunny-chan!" She set the stuffed doll on the floor, across from a sweatdropping Fenrir who didn't like to be stared at while eating, even if the spectator was an inanimate object.

"Mayura, are you hungry?" Yamino smiled when the girl came to stand next to him, eyeing his every movement from cutting the cake and placing each slice on to a plate to setting the cups on to the tray.

"Just a little," she blushed, "but I can wait! I want to eat with Loki-kun and nee-san."

"I'm sure they won't mind if you have a tiny piece."

He took a plate with a small slice and a fork and brought it over to the counter. She followed him happily, and he turned around to pick her up and set her securely on the tall stool.

"_Itadakimasu_!" she chirped, with fork in hand, and dug right in. After two big bites, she swallowed and asked, "Yamino-kun, can I have apple juice today?"

"Of course, Mayura."

"Bunny-chan wants some too!"

'When's she gonna grow out of that useless bunny?' Fenrir groaned, having scooted his plate away and letting his back face the doll, not that he felt intimidated by the thing, 'I'm a much better companion!'

"He does?" Yamino tried not to laugh at his brother's comment, on his way to the refrigerator to get the bottle of juice for the girl. As much as he would love to question Fenrir on his statement, it would sound odd to converse with the puppy in front of her, not that her one-sided conversations with Bunny was any better.

"I think Bunny should share the water bowl," he said with a grin, emptying the remaining apple juice in to a glass, and placed it next to Mayura's plate, "I only have enough for one glass."

"Oh okay!" she looked down to the puppy, "Fenrir won't mind! They're good friends."

Fenrir sighed, hitting a paw to his head, while Yamino, looking away, laughed quietly in to his fist. And the girl continued to eat her cake happily, oblivious to all that happened around her.

* * *

**Notes:** I wanted to write some Mayura and Yamino and Fenrir moments, lol. I have a new MayuLoki art piece on my deviant site: kurosu dot deviantart dot com/art/Chibi-Mayura-and-Kakusei-Loki-397740218 - replace the dots with periods, of course. -kuro.


	7. Chapter 7

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Days of Innocence**

written by Kurosu

**-Chapter Seven, Bubbles and a Red Thread.**

She was running in the backyard, arms stretched high towards the skies, holding a small bubble blower between her thumb and index finger. letting the breeze swish through the small hole. A myriad of clear bubbles streamed through the air, like a sparkling galaxy in the depths of space, and fluttered in all directions the wind carried them. The neat and clean yard was soon littered with tiny spheres waltzing around the little girl, and she happily dipped the stick in to her container of liquid soap to add another assault to the skies.

She walked over to Fenrir, who had been busy digging in the ground behind the rose bushes, and blew some bubbles at him. He sneezed at the batch flying in to his face and barked, 'Stop it, Chibi! Achoo!'

She laughed and ran away, preparing to decorate the yard with more bubbles, while an annoyed Fenrir chased her, having lost interest in making a hole, and the pesky bubbles appeared to be more of a challenge to destroy. He charged through a cloud of them, snapping his jaws at ones that barely escaped his mighty head.

"Look, Fenrir!" she called and turned around to him, blowing air towards the hole in the stick, creating a big bubble that was about the size of a baseball, and let the wind carry it away.

He eyed it and crouched down to the ground, ready to launch himself in to the air at his target attempting to fly away. He jumped for it, bursting the bubble with the tip of his nose, and landed with a proud thump on the ground again.

Mayura laughed, "Aha, Fenrir, you're not jealous, are you?"

She waved around the stick again, creating more bubbles, while the puppy barked in reply, 'The Great Wolf isn't jealous! But if you're going to play with me, play properly!'

He walked over to her and nudged her leg with his nose, and she smiled down to him. After setting her bubble toy on the ground, she squatted next to him and petted his head, "What do you want to play now?"

'I want to eat!' he wagged his tail.

Upon seeing his tail happily swinging side to side, she gave him a toothy grin, knowing very well what the puppy wanted, but a shadow suddenly appeared over them, towering with some intimidation, and Mayura tilted her head back to see who it was, her smile growing ever brighter, "Loki-kun!"

'Daddy!'

"What are you two doing?" he smiled softly, leaning over them, propping one hand on his knee while the other dropped on to Mayura's head.

"Making bubbles!" she beamed and stood up eagerly to greet him, but she looked around, searching for something, or someone, "Where's nee-san? Will she play with us?"

"She had to leave," he knelt down to her, and she went to stand close to him, her short arms falling on his shoulders. "But that's why I'm here."

"Hnn," she pouted, lolling her head to the side, "but I wanted to play with nee-san."

"Mayu-chan doesn't want to play with me anymore?"

Loki feigned being hurt, but it worked a little too well when the girl gasped and blurted out, "I want to play with Loki-kun! But, nee-san... she looked lonely."

He felt a bit of guilt nagging at the back of his mind, recalling the loneliness that Freya endured because of his absence, yet he couldn't return the feelings that she wanted of him. They would always be friends, and he would welcome her visits, but anything more than that was impossible, because all of his love and affections were given to one mortal girl, whose gaze held steadily against his, her heart speaking so honestly, "I want to be friends with nee-san."

He smiled, cupping her face within his hands, not able to tear his eyes away from her innocence and sweetness, his own heart skipping a beat. He hugged her, resting his chin on top of her head, sighing, "I'm sure she would like that."

* * *

"Even as a child," Freya sighed sadly, staring out of the window from the kitchen, "I still lose to her."

"Freya-san..."

Yamino didn't know what to say to the goddess, whose eyes remained glued to the scene outside, envying the closeness, the love that was clearly evident between the two. She had known for a long time that it was never meant to be with Loki - they were never destined to be together - but she had thought that she could fight against fate, like Loki had fought against his own with the prophecy of Ragnarok.

He proved that fates could be changed with one's own hands, yet he was unwilling to change his heart that had already been charmed by one mortal girl. She had always believed it was a temporary fancy, a sort of childish phase with a mortal that would eventually pass, but she should have known better.

Being the goddess of love, she could see the red threads of fated love between souls, and not even death could destroy such a bond that fate had created. She had always been curious about Loki's, seeing the length of red string that continuously stretched beyond the boundaries of Asgard as if there was no end, even the giantess Angrboda was not his destined one.

But she had never thought that the other end of his red string would be a clumsy, naive mortal girl.

Even a lifetime later, fate continued to connect Loki and Mayura together.

* * *

**Notes:** I've always found the red string of fate interesting. I do feel sorry for Freya, but eh, who told her to keep wallowing in loneliness just because Loki wasn't around! Shesh.

Oh! Some more artwork! I'm so hooked on Chibi-Mayura & Kakusei Loki: kurosu DOT deviantart DOT com/art/Bedtime-398310295 **and** kurosu DOT deviantart DOT com/art/Ah-it-s-morning-398311799

Thank you! -kuro.


	8. Chapter 8

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Days of Innocence**

written by Kurosu

**- Chapter Eight, A Night Time Game.**

Yamino knocked on the ajar door of the study and poked his head inside, asking, "Loki-sama, have you seen Mayura?"

He, putting his papers down, arched a brow in surprise, "No, I haven't seen her in the past hour." He looked over to the clock on the wall, and seeing that it was her bedtime, he smiled, "I guess she's not ready for bed then."

"I think she found where I hid the chocolates," he sighed, "She won't be sleeping at this rate."

Loki couldn't help but laugh at his son's miserable situation, because Mayura was already a hand full without the sugar rush, so just imagining her with it was a nightmare and right before bed too. He stood up with the intention on finding the little girl, and both head towards the stairs. Yamino would continue the search the first floor, more thoroughly this time, while Loki would check the bedrooms again, quietly noting that Fenrir was no where in sight either.

He walked to her room and stopped at the doorway, pausing there in thought, and with a smile, he shook his head and continued down the hallway towards his own. He turned the knob, quietly opening the door, and slipped in to the room as softly as possible. He looked about the place, familiar with the order of every object in his room, and then smiled, walking over to the foot of the bed. He stood for a moment and decided to sit down on the edge, a slight bounce on the mattress, before falling back on the surface, his legs still over the side, feet pressed on the floor. He tucked his arms beneath his head as a makeshift pillow, making a hum sound from his throat.

"I wonder where Mayu-chan is. It's past her bedtime."

He listened carefully to the supposedly empty room and smirked when he heard the sound of shuffling coming from beneath his spot on the bed. He sat up again and spoke aloud, "I guess she doesn't want a bedtime story from me."

"No!" came a tiny voice.

He was on the verge of laughing, at how easy it was to fool a child, especially when he knew of all the girl's weaknesses, and continued the little game. He stood up and walked over to the closet, "Mayu-chan? Where are you?"

"In a good hiding spot," she whispered.

'I'm never playing this game with her again.'

Fenrir's barks were quickly muffled to silence, and Loki asked amusingly, opening the closet doors, pretending to search it, "I guess Fenrir's hiding with you?"

"Maybe!" she giggled.

"What do I get if I find Mayu-chan?" he inquired, closing the doors to the closet again, and waited for her answer.

"Um, I dunno. What does Loki-kun want?"

"Hm, how about a good night kiss?"

"Mou, you always get one, Loki-kun!" her voice was now much louder than before, apparently forgetting that she was still hiding under the bed.

"I want two kisses," he grinned.

"Okay!"

He moved over to the window brushed aside the curtains, "And not behind the curtains... Mayu-chan is good at hiding."

'Daddy, help! She's holding me hostage!'

"Ssh, Fenrir, or Loki-kun will find us."

He laughed and figured it was time to end their fun, because his son was sounding desperate enough to gnaw off his own limbs to get out of the girl's clutches. He knelt down to at the bedside and lifted up the bedding to see her practically squishing Fenrir with her weight, a hand clamped over his snout to prevent him from barking. She pouted when their eyes met, "Mou, Loki-kun found us!"

Fenrir squirmed his way out of her grip, shouting, 'Daddy knew the whole time!' He clamped his jaw on the bag of chocolate treats and made a dash for the door, leaving his partner in crime behind to take the punishment.

Loki smirked and extended his hand towards her, and she, still pouting, took hold of it, and he helped her out from beneath his bed. Upon closer inspection, she was very disheveled, from her wrinkled pajamas to the strands of her hair sticking in all directions and the obvious smears of chocolate around her mouth. He picked her up in to his arms and carried her in to the bathroom, "Yamino's going to be upset."

"I only ate a little bit," she gave him the patented large, puppy-dog eyes, "Fenrir ate the most!"

If she was going to get in trouble, she could at least blame the majority of it on the dog, who did run away with the evidence. It would probably also help to be an angel, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her cheek against his, "Loki-kun will get three kisses!"

He was definitely amused by her antics, and to think that this girl was already trying to charm him, he should probably begin to fear for the worse in the future. He flipped the lights on and set her down on the countertop, turning on the faucet. He grabbed a towel from the side bar and let the water soak in to the fabric for a bit, before turning off the water and using it wipe the chocolate off her face.

She winced from the cool towel scrubbing against her skin and tried to pull his hand away, "Boo, Loki-kun only gets two kisses now!"

He chuckled, dropping the towel on the counter after he was done cleaning her face, and leaned down to her and kissed her forehead. He smoothed her hair down with the palms of his hands and fixed the folds of her pajamas, "Time for bed, Mayura."

She reached her arms out to him, and he lifted her in to his arms again. She told him, "But I'm not sleepy."

"That happens when you eat chocolate before bedtime," he pinched the tip of her nose, "I'm still putting you to bed though."

She rested her head in the crook of his neck, "Can I sleep with Loki-kun?"

"If I get my three kisses then."

She giggled, "Okay!"

* * *

**Notes:** A short break from _Love Me_ 'cause I'm being indecisive on different parts of the next chapter, lol. And I can't get enough of how cute Chibi-Mayu and Loki are! *swoons* -kuro.


	9. Chapter 9

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Days of Innocence**

written by Kurosu

**- Chapter Nine, A Kite and a Conversation.**

"Uwaah~! It's really flying, Loki-kun!"

Mayura's laughter and excitement filled the afternoon skies, the brightness of the sun bathed the park in its warmth and the gentleness of the breeze teased the butterfly kite higher in to the blue yonder, eliciting more squeals of delight from the little girl. She watched in amazement at her new toy, that Yamino had apparently purchased by mail order, standing in front of Loki, who held one end of the kite, controlling the string carefully so it wouldn't snap off.

He had a smile the whole time, from the moment they arrived at the park to constructing the kite to finally letting it sail in to the skies, because of the vibrant child in his care, who wouldn't stay still for all the custard pudding in the world. He could never be bored with her, very moment was like a new experience, a new surprise in his life.

He knelt down to her and asked, "Do you want to give it a try, Mayura?"

"Really?" she beamed.

He put the spool of string in her left hand while his right arm wrapped around her shoulder, reaching over to her other hand to hold the length of the string that connected to the kite. He gradually turned the spool, letting the kite higher in to the air, and told her, "Turn it slowly, so the string doesn't snap off."

"Okay!"

After a few minutes, she was getting the hang of it and began to walk backwards as the kite continued to dance in the skies. She raised her hands in to the air, creating various movements with the kite, while Loki sat back on the grass and watched her play with the aerial contraption, impressed by her fast learning and handling of it. He sighed, a feeling of sad nostalgia overwhelmed him, thinking of his own children that he never quite raised them with his own hands but he loved them nonetheless.

He and the other gods had an eternity, and in comparison to that, the span of a mortal life was a tiny flicker of a flame, the reason he would always treasure Mayura in this lifetime of hers, but she was growing up so fast. He feared that if he took his eyes off her, just for a short while, she would become the beautiful woman that he remembered, he dreamed of, and he yearned for.

* * *

A pair of green eyes softened at the pair in the distance, in the open fields of grass, laughing and smiling in the sunshine, and she was happy for them, that both were able to enjoy a new life together, after their long hardships of trying to be together. Her lips pursed in to a thin line, feeling the regret of the past creeping upon her conscience, but her actions were needed for both of them to be reunited in the future.

She gripped the spine of the book tightly in her hands, lowering her head shamefully.

"Hel, I didn't take you for the stalker type," came the voice from across a separate branch from her own that she had been sitting on.

She looked up, surprised to see the last face she would ever meet on Midgard, but she still greeted him with a soft smile and a tiny blush at his comment, "Heimdall-sama."

The guardian of Bifrost, in his child form having been used to it on Midgard, stood on the branch, leaning his side against the trunk of the tree, arms folded over his chest and one eye stared across the park at the pair of god and mortal passing the afternoon with a kite.

"But I assume you were curious about them," he spoke again, "after all that time."

She followed his gaze, "I wanted to make sure everything was all right."

"You know, she would never hold it against you."

Hel glanced over to him, assuming denseness of the subject, and when he turned his head to meet her eyes, he wore an expression of understanding, "Between dying in battle at Odin's hands or being hit by a car on Midgard by your own, she would've taken the latter.

"You were doing it for their sake, so her soul could be reborn from the Underworld. If she had been taken by Odin to Valhalla, then they would be apart forever."

"That may be so," she smiled sadly, "but I had no right in making that decision. It was my own selfish reason for doing it."

"Aren't we all selfish?" He straightened his posture and stared at his hands in front of him, "I've done much with these hands, some things I regret, just to find my right eye." He dropped them to his side and looked up to the skies, "But when it's for the sake of something important to you, you would not hesitate to protect it.

"So don't be too hard on yourself."

She let out a small giggle, "And you're much kinder than what you show to others, Heimdall-sama."

"I've got a reputation to uphold," he snorted.

They heard a high-pitched squeal of surprise in the distance and turned towards the little girl crying over the kite that had snapped away, soaring through the skies, making several twists in the air before becoming a tiny speck in their eyes. They could see Loki cradling the sad girl in his arms and whispering words to her, not that they could hear him from where they were, but his words seemed to have calmed her down.

Heimdall sighed, wondering if he should ever give his enemy any sympathy, because he could not imagine having to deal with the mortal named Mayura, in any or all the lifetimes, but he did enjoy dropping in a few times just to rile up Loki, the little instances he looked forward to when he came to Midgard. He had to admit, only to himself, that it was much nicer being in the mortal realm, with the unpredictable nature of humans.

"Thank you," Hel spoke gratefully, snapping him out of his thoughts.

She was happy that there was someone out there who understood her feelings, and he grunted in response, turning away as if he wasn't actually trying to cheer her up, but it did, so he would accept it. She went back to watching her father and his young charge, who were now laying in the grass, watching the clouds overhead, and a speckle of black that was the form of her older brother streaked across the field.

"Well I'm not going to watch them all day," he moved from his spot against the tree trunk and glanced towards the ground, "I'm in the mood for some _taiyaki_..."

He silently cursed Freyr for all the times that he was forced to eat them, and Hel laughed, giving him one of her rare genuine smiles, "Me too."

* * *

**Notes:** The Hel & Heimdall scene is for kdwml, since I haven't come up with an actual story for your second favorite pairing yet. It's not much, but I think Heimdall would be the one to cheer her up - the potential of the two! Kekeke! -kuro.


End file.
